#yannis phillippakis

[iero]

YANNIS PHILLIPPAKIS — for Rolling Stone UK | x

[woollenpharaohs]

Who knew Aisling Bea would do us all a favour by posting shippy content of Yannis Phillippakis

[rainingmusic]

FOALS - Into The Surf

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/foals-the-runner-clip-video/

Le monde brûle dans le nouveau clip de Foals, "The Runner"

Pour ce dernier round avant la sortie imminente de la seconde partie d’Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, les gars de Foals nous époustouflent : 

« If I fall down, fall down / Then I know to keep on running », ces paroles possèdent le refrain du nouveau single de Foals, « The Runner », qui s’offre un magnifique clip dirigé par Quentin Deronzier. À une dizaine de jours avant la sortie de la deuxième et dernière partie d’Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (dispo dans les bacs le 18 octobre via Warner), Yannis Philippakis et sa bande mettent les bouchées doubles et décrivent ce monde en déclin de la plus belle des manières. La destruction à travers l’art : ce clip est une œuvre à part entière, enchaînant les scènes aux effets spéciaux troublants (produits par La Pac) et un final tonitruant… dans les flammes.

Sans plus attendre, découvrez le clip de « The Runner » :

Ce single arrive après « Black Bull » et a précédé « Into the Surf ». Ces morceaux figureront sur ce qui s’annonce comme le plus grand album de Foals, clôturant l’ambitieux diptyque. Phillippakis s’était confié à NME à ce sujet : « La deuxième partie est beaucoup plus heavy, les guitares sont plus accentuées, et il y a de gros riffs dessus. C’est un disque rock qui reprend définitivement le récit de la première partie. Celle-ci s’est terminée avec beaucoup de feu et d’images destructrices ; la deuxième partie tente d’y répondre : Comment pouvez-vous continuer à vivre à travers cette terre brûlée ? »

Le groupe sera d’ailleurs en concert (gratuit !) le dimanche 13 octobre à La Gaité Lyrique, dans le cadre du ARTE Concert Festival, qui s’est aussi dégoté Iggy Pop, ou encore Alan.ni. Toutes les infos à retrouver par ici.

[newmusickarl]

Top 50 Albums of 2022

20. The Theory of Whatever by Jamie T

Whilst his debut album Panic Prevention will always be the sentimental favourite due to its impact during my youth, arguably Jamie T’s best album arrived in 2014 in the form of Carry On The Grudge. Arriving five long years after his sophomore outing Kings & Queens, it was packed with dark character-driven pieces and emotional tales of heartbreak, sewn together by Jamie’s raw, honest and often poignant words. It would go on to be my runner-up Album of the Year back in 2014 and now eight years later, he’s once again cracked my annual Top 20.

The Theory of Whatever is the sound of Jamie T back at the top of his game, with the album gleaming with his ever-present tales of misdemeanour and good times with friends. Although there are also mentions of his battles with drug addiction and pandemic-induced anxiety at times too, that distinct ride-or-die spirit woven into the heart of the record ensures it’s always a positive listen. With revered artists such as Foals’ Yannis Phillippakis (a self-confessed Jamie T superfan), Matt Maltese, Willie J Healey and Hugo White (formerly of The Maccabees) also assisting to help hone these songs, the result is an album right up there with his very best work.

90s Cars is a terrifically moody introduction, a shimmering nostalgia-soaked track centred on a big bassline and some playful synths. It leads perfectly into lead single The Old Style Raiders, which remains one of my favourite Jamie T songs to date (listen above). Atypically soaring indie anthem, it boasts big guitar chords and a hugely uplifting chorus, with Jamie belting out anguished cries of “Hard to find your something to love in life.” Easily one of the best singles of the year for me.

British Hell then arrives with some early Arctic Monkeys’ style vigour, before The Terror of Lambeth Love delivers a sub two-minute short story that bridges the gap nicely over to Keying Lamborghinis, another big album highlight. With Jamie’s spacey reverbed vocals reiterating “She’s keying Lamborghinis in my mind” against a mesmerising backdrop of pulsating acid-soaked synths and a hip-hop style piano melody, it makes for an incredible sonic and lyrical display. Second single St. George Wharf Tower then arrives to momentarily slow the pace with a raw and minimalist heartbreak lament, offering up one of Jamie’s best vocal performances of the whole album.

Heading into the back end and Jamie continues to deliver some of the best songs of his career, with Talk Is Cheap finding him at his most open and vulnerable. As he sings of being “rudderless” before the gut-punching refrain of “So rose-tint your glasses, I’m wrapped up in plastic, I still think I’m in love with you”, you’ll find yourselfsuitably stirred. The tale of heartbreak is then seemingly continued on epic penultimate track Old Republican, as Jamie sings of the “cruellest game of love” against some emphatic indie-rock instrumentation.

Jamie has always set a high standard for himself, and this is another near-flawless project full of lyrical majesty that has kept me returning again and again throughout the year. If you had forgotten in the six years he has been away, this is Jamie T reminding everyone why he is still one of the UK’s most treasured storytellers.

Best tracks: The Old Style Raiders, Keying Lamborghinis, Talk Is Cheap

Listen here

[boonesfarmsangria]

Top 15 performances at Garorock Festival (excerpt)

3. Foals Oxfordshire’s very own Foals have slowly but surely become seasoned festival veterans over the last few years, releasing a constant stream of enviably destructive music with every step they take. It’s been a couple of years since they last shared new music (2015’s What Went Down), but they’re still going strong and look ready to release another collection of music this year. Frontman Yannis Phillippakis is still an absolute beast of a musician, commanding the crowd effortlessly and hoisting them into the palm of his hand at short notice. Set highlight Inhaler enabled the packed crowd to go mental once more, with pits erupting left, right and centre. And quite rightly so, because Philippakis and co. are bill-toppers of the future. 📝📷[hq] Jack Parker All Things Loud

[cinebabysphotoalbum]

Cinebaby Tyler Sercombe and Yannis Phillippakis

[foalsforever]

first time hearing foals 2007. 

[rainingmusic]

FOALS - Mountain At My Gates

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/foals-contact-interview/

INTERVIEW - Foals contact

Le groupe anglais Foals propose le second volet d’un dyptique, six mois à peine avant le précédent. Avant une longue pause ?

La veille (ou presque), fidèle à de très bonnes habitudes, la prestation de son groupe à Rock en Seine, sur cette scène de l’Industrie souvent bien plus propice aux emballements tant dessus que devant, enchantait tout son monde. Mais le plus… enchanté de tous semble être Yannis Phillippakis, la voix et la figure de proue de Foals. Si la nuit a manifestement été courte (on n’en saura pas plus !), presque repu de sa soirée, c’est avec des paillettes dans les yeux qu’il entame la conversation en revenant sur la question. “C’est l’un de ses moments finalement pas si fréquents où tu es comme envahi par un sentiment de symbiose absolu avec le public, presque transporté, se lance-t-il ainsi. Un truc assez inexplicable mais qui te gonfle à bloc et te fait tout oublier, jusqu’à la fatigue accumulée après plus d’quelque chose comme une cinquantaine de concerts depuis le mois de mars”.

Si Phillippakis concède ainsi à demi-mots un début de lassitude, c’est aussi parce qu’il a le sentiment d’être parvenu à la fin d’un cycle avec la sortie en cette fin septembre d’Everything Not Save Will Be Lost – Part II, un peu plus de six mois après le premier volet. Une fin de cycle pour Foals mais aussi (surtout ?) pour lui-même. Faire autre chose, il s’y verrait plus que bien, c’est encore avec d’autres petites étincelles dans les rétines qu’il commence à en énumérer les détails, pour mieux nous réclamer ensuite dans un sourire de garder le secret. “Une chose est sûre, je veux renouer avec la poésie, y puiser de nouvelles libertés d’écriture, le plus loin possible de la musique”, consent-il toutefois à dévoiler. Le Jim Morrison du rock indépendant anglais serait-il né ? La remarque le fait sourire : “Plutôt Nick Cave si l’on doit absolument coller une comparaison sur cette question.”

“C’est un sentiment diffus, une analogie qui en vaut une autre”

Mais bon, on verra ça plus tard. Pour l’heure, il y a donc un album à défendre, histoire déjà de bien faire rentrer dans la tête de tout le monde que ce Part II n’est pas une suite du précédent, tout au plus une extension. Et encore, le mot ne lui convient pas vraiment non plus. “Ce sont plutôt deux projets parallèles, qui se complètent, mais qui, je veux le croire en tout cas, peuvent exister séparément, avance-t-il. Ils sont nés ensemble, pas l’un après l’autre. En fait, au fil des enregistrements, on s’est vite rendus compte que nous avions deux lancements et deux fins d’albums, très forts les uns et les autres. Ce sont eux qui ont dicté notre choix dans un second temps de répartir les chansons que nous avions accumulées”.

Commentant déjà au printemps dernier les différentes nuances et ambiances de ces deux volets, Phillippakis avait osé la métaphore de palettes de couleurs, parlant de rouge pour le premier volet et d’orange pour le second. Un hasard si ces “codes couleur” seraient ceux que nous retrouverions par la suite sur les artworks de ces deux faux frères siamois ? On vous en laisse juges… “C’est un sentiment diffus, une analogie qui en vaut une autre”, sourit-il. D’ailleurs, quand on se permet de lui suggérer que l’on aurait bien vu les choses en sens inverse, ne serait-ce que du fait de la nature plus rêche, plus brute et ouvertement plus accueillante pour les guitares de cette seconde partie, le tout dans un foisonnement d’ambiances et de rythmes pop, rock et dance tels que Foals nous a habitués à nous… asséner, difficile de ressentir chez notre interlocuteur une profonde réticence. À moins bien sûr qu’il ait voulu rester poli.

La fuite

Aussi dense et fleuri soit-il, difficile de passer à côté de l’objet central du visuel d’Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part II : une croix, sortant de la pénombre pour imposer sa noire présence. Pas illogique dès lors que Phillippakis confirme que la notion de mortalité est l’un des éléments-clés des chansons quoi composent ce second volet du diptyque là où le premier cherchait davantage à mettre en exergue l’individualisme et les difficultés de communication dans l’ère actuelle. “On pourrait s’étonner que cette angoisse de la mort puisse occuper l’esprit d’un type à peine trentenaire [33 depuis le mois d’avril – ce qui, convenons-en, n’a pas réussi à tout le monde, nda], plaide le frontman dans un succulent accès d’autodérision. Mais c’est quelque chose qui n’est pas forcément récent chez moi et je pense que voir mes parents vieillir m’a fait me confronter de manière plus concrète encore à ce thème. Bien sûr, cela va plus loin que la mort de simples individus, c’est aussi lié à celle d’une civilisation et, en ce sens, ça rejoint ce que les chansons de Part I peuvent exprimer ou suggérer.”

Une façon de boucler la boucle avant de passer à autre chose, de se libérer d’un trop plein, à l’instar de ces “Take me away” presque hurlés à la fin de “Neptune”, allégorique et prenante plage finale de plus de dix minutes à la fin de l’album. La solution serait-elle dans la fuite ? “Va savoir”, ponctue-t-il d’un nouveau sourire.

Propos recueillis par Xavier Bonnet

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part II, disponible dans les bacs chez Warner.

[newmusickarl]

Album & EP Recommendations

The Theory of Whatever by Jamie T

Whilst I don’t enjoy not having new Jamie T music to listen to, I do find the English singer-songwriter to be at his best when he takes his sweet time to make a record.

Whilst his debut album Panic Prevention will always be the sentimental favourite due to its impact during my youth, arguably his best album arrived in 2014 in the form of Carry On The Grudge. Arriving five long years after his sophomore outing Kings & Queens, it was packed with dark character-driven pieces and emotional tales of heartbreak, sewn together by Jamie's raw, honest and often poignant words. It would go on to be my runner-up Album of the Year in 2014 and left me eager for a quick return.

Jamie relatively quickly obliged, dropping the follow-up Trick just a couple of years later. Bringing in more Grime and Garage elements into his sound, that record did have its moments like Tinfoil Boy, Drone Strike, Tescoland and Self Esteem, however it sadly never quite hit the same heights as its predecessor. With a B-Sides collection then released in 2018, it seemed like Jamie might even be getting ready to call it a day. Thankfully this wasn’t the case and now, six long years after Trick, Jamie is back in business - and business is booming.

The Theory of Whatever is the sound of Jamie T back at the top of his game, with the album gleaming with his ever-present tales of misdemeanour and good times with friends. Although there are also mentions of his battles with drug addiction and pandemic-induced anxiety at times too, that distinct ride-or-die spirit woven into the heart of the record ensures it’s always a positive listen. With revered artists such as Foals’ Yannis Phillippakis (a self-confessed Jamie T superfan), Matt Maltese, Willie J Healey and Hugo White (formerly of The Maccabees) also assisting to help hone these songs, the result is an album right up there with his very best work.

90s Cars is a terrifically moody introduction, a shimmering nostalgia-soaked track centred on a big bassline and some playful synths. It leads perfectly into lead single The Old Style Raiders, which remains one of my favourite Jamie T songs to date. A typically soaring indie anthem, it boasts big guitar chords and a hugely uplifting chorus, with Jamie belting out anguished cries of “Hard to find your something to love in life.” Easily one of the best singles of the year for me.

British Hell then arrives with some early Arctic Monkeys’ style vigour, before The Terror of Lambeth Love delivers a sub two-minute short story that bridges the gap nicely over to Keying Lamborghinis, another big album highlight. With Jamie’s spacey reverbed vocals reiterating “She’s keying Lamborghinis in my mind” against a mesmerising backdrop of pulsating acid-soaked synths and a hip-hop style piano melody, it makes for an incredible sonic and lyrical display.

Second single St. George Wharf Tower then arrives to momentarily slow the pace with a raw and minimalist heartbreak lament, offering up one of Jamie’s best vocal performances of the whole album. The pace is quickly picked back up again though thanks to the full throttle punk of A Million & One New Ways To Die and raucous recent single Between The Rocks.

Heading into the back end and Jamie continues to deliver some of the best songs of his career, with Talk Is Cheap finding him at his most open and vulnerable. As he sings of being “rudderless” before the gut-punching refrain of “So rose-tint your glasses, I’m wrapped up in plastic, I still think I’m in love with you”, you’ll find yourself suitably stirred. The tale of heartbreak is then seemingly continued on epic penultimate track Old Republican, as Jamie sings of the “cruellest game of love” against some emphatic indie-rock instrumentation. Finally 50,000 Unmarked Bullets brings the record to a glorious close with a stripped-back and climatic piano ballad.

Safe to say even after one week, I already adore this album and can only see myself returning to it as the months roll on, with Jamie serving up a near-flawless project full of auditory and lyrical majesty. If you had forgotten in the six years he has been away, this is Jamie T reminding everyone why he is still one of this generation’s most treasured storytellers.

Listen here

Entering Heaven Alive by Jack White

Earlier this year, music’s mad scientist Jack White served up his brilliant first album of 2022, Fear of the Dawn. One of his best solo outings to date, the album found Jack picking up where he left off with 2018’s Boarding House Reach, still playing around and pushing the limits of his signature blues rock sound. Where that album would have you smiling in bemusement at the crazy sounds you were hearing, Fear of the Dawn was more controlled chaos, with Jack reigning in the experimentation somewhat to replace it with humungous riffs and all kinds of playful studio tricks.

Now from the singles heading into Entering Heaven Alive, it seemed that Jack’s second record of 2022 would be the more traditional of the two and that is indeed the case. Where Fear of the Dawn was the boundary-pushing rock record built mostly on thunderous electric guitars, Entering Heaven Alive is a more acoustic, timeless-sounding affair. As a result, it can’t quite match the full-throttle excitement of Fear of the Dawn, meaning this is probably the slightly less enthralling record of the two – but only just. Needless to say, there are still plenty of gems to be found in this collection as well.

Opener A Tip From You to Me is an immediate highlight, a brilliant piano-driven track centred on Jack’s refrain of “Love leave me alone tonight.” This is then followed by the equally great All Along The Way which is White at his barest of bones, a plucky bluesy number which briefly lights up midway through with added organs and electric guitars. Help Me Along is then a light-hearted string-tinged love song, that calls back to some of his best early Blunderbuss cuts.

Lead single Love Is Selfish remains classic Jack White, again tapping into the most timeless and heartfelt nature of his song writing. I’ve Got You Surrounded (With My Love) is another big highlight, based around some jazzy piano and a stinging central guitar riff, harking back to his White Stripes days. Then lurking amongst a couple of more plodding tracks, recent single If I Die Tomorrow rocks up with a wonderfully cinematic slice of modern Americana to save things in the back half.

So whilst Fear of the Dawn just about edges it by being a more engaging front-to-back listen, this is still another solid outing from Jack, as he gets back to basics for some of his most enduring solo material. With shades of The White Stripes and his less experimental early solo material, this one is well worth your time.

Listen here

Tracks of the Week

Polygod by Hayden Thorpe

This man just does not miss! This week, the ex-Wild Beasts frontman announced an exciting deluxe edition of his incredible sophomore solo album, Moondust For My Diamond, one of my Top 5 Albums of 2021. Featuring several remixes and four brand new tracks, single Polygod is the first taste of this forthcoming deluxe edition and it finds Hayden in his usual spellbinding form.

Written at the same time as Moondust For My Diamond, Polygod continues the free-spirited energy and electronic textures of that record, with Hayden repeating the instantly catchy refrain of “Set me on fire” against some richly-layered, glistening instrumentation. About midway through the track really comes alive, with some piercing, 80s-style distorted guitars bringing some additional funky flavour to the track.

Best experienced with the wonderfully vintage music video, which sees Hayden donning some angel wings as he performs on stage and dances with a flare in some seemingly enchanted woods.

Watch the brilliant video for Polygod here

How Do I Make You Love Me? By The Weeknd

It is no surprise that this cut from The Weeknd’s afterlife-exploring fifth album Dawn FM has been one of my most played songs of the year so far. Soaked in synth-pop grandeur with a hugely catchy chorus, it seemed like only a matter of time before this one got released as a single. This week was the week, with Abel dropping the song alongside a striking and graphic new visual.

Following on from the video to Out of Time earlier this year, the animated visual sees a masked, decaying Abel getting chased by surgeons, giant butterflies, gory balloons and creepy swamp creatures, before turning back into a young boy by the video’s end. As ever it’s a captivating and incredibly artistic music video, showing that Abel continues to be leagues ahead of all other popstars on the planet right now.

Watch the incredible video for How Do I Make You Love Me here

2001 (Apple Music Home Session) / Life Is Yours by Foals

The Oxford trio’s seventh album Life Is Yours has been the soundtrack to the summer so far, thanks to its infectious collection of indie bangers and vibrant, dance-heavy grooves. The opening title track has been one of the biggest highlights of that record and now it’s great to see it finally get a single release, complete with a colourful accompanying video.

That’s not the only new item Foals gifted us this week however, as they also released an excellent three track live EP for Apple Music. Teaming up with the London Contemporary Orchestra, they incorporated tuned percussion, baritone saxophone and cello to deliver new versions of Life Is Yours and Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2 favourite, Wash Off. However, the pick of the bunch is recent single 2001, which is lifted even higher into heavenly territory thanks to the added orchestration.

Watch the video for Life Is Yours here

Listen to the Apple Music Home Session version of 2001 here

Cracker Island by Gorillaz

Released initially at the end of June, Gorillaz’s awesome collaboration with Thundercat sees Damon Albarn bring some Blur-style energy to this hypnotic blend of pulsating electro and smooth disco. Now this week, the band released the spectacular and colourful new partially animated video that, as ever with the Gorillaz, brings a whole new realm of life to their latest work.

Watch the Cracker Island video here

Murder Me (Acoustic) by Blood Red Shoes

And finally this week, Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes continue to reinterpret tracks from their brilliant sixth studio album, Ghosts On Tape, which was released earlier this year and remains a personal favourite of mine. This time its Murder Me that gets a string-tinged acoustic makeover, coming out sounding like a spritely yet macabre cautionary tale from the Victorian era, with a little bit of Spanish flair lurking in there too. Fantastically fantastical as always from these two.

Listen here

[hxn-raw-blog]

HE CAN FLY

[sihal]

ok so pretty much LEMMIE tell you what happened before the foals gig last night so there I am sitting in a cafe across from the venue and in walks these cool lookin guys and I was like wait FUCK TAHTS JIMMY AMD YANNIS AND JACK AND ED AND WALTER FUCKKKKK so yeah jack went in to buy something so I went up to him when he was in the queue and asked for a picture and then went back to my table and I was gonna go out and get a picture with all of them but they were leaving just as I went out so I just shouted 'JIMMY HAVE A GREAT SHOW!!!!' and he turned around, waved and shouted back 'THANK YOU I WILL!!!! SEE YOU THERE!!!'

[congreaver]

'I would just pack it in before bashing out the same old shit, because the idea of making a record, within its safety zoom in the sake of making a record, in the sake of keeping the machine running so that we all get to like have our little wage and we get to tour and we get to hear applause, and all of that is just not worth it. I would rather just quit and become a gardener or go and like breed somewhere' - Yannis Phillippkais, Nothing Left Unsaid (x)

[rebanach]

The guys from FOALS.

[foalsforever]

Foals join Zane for Fan Club